Much of the ocean’s life remains a mystery to us, but an international team of scientists has just filled in some of the gaps after completing a 40-day expedition to the Salas y Gómez Ridge. The ridge is a long passage filled with more than 100 underwater mountains that stretches from Chile to Rapa Nui, better known as Easter Island.
Researchers this month presentation Their early discoveries. The area has a rich biodiversity of marine and deep-sea species and is important for the migration of whales, sea turtles and a variety of fish. The team was led by Erin Easton of the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley and Javier Sellanes of the Catholic University of Northern Chile. It also included scientists from Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. To explore the ridge, the research team used a research vessel from the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Falkor (as expected).
The team observed 160 species not known to live on the ridge, at least 50 of which are likely to be entirely new to science. One of these discoveries includes the deepest example of photosynthetic coral ever seen.
This research will not only improve our understanding of life under the sea, but could also inform conservation efforts as the area is now considered for special environmental protection. “Observing distinct ecosystems on individual seamounts highlights the importance of protecting entire ridges, not just a few seamounts,” Easton said. name At the Schmidt Marine Institute. “We hope that the data collected from this expedition will help establish new marine protected areas, including the open seas of the Salas y Gómez Ridge.”
Below are some of the fantastic images captured during our expedition.